EAST PEORIA — Contentious text messages regarding child support and visitation preceded a deadly shooting at a sports bar June 14, but there were no overt threats of violence.

The last documented communication Jason Moore had with his ex-wife Lori Moore before he shot her and her new boyfriend, Lance Griffel, in front of more than 100 witnesses indicated only that Jason Moore planned to attend her class reunion to purposefully anger her.

“Anywho, I’m going to show up just to piss you off,” he texted his ex-wife about 45 minutes before opening fire on her and ultimately being shot and killed by an off-duty FBI agent at the Fifth Quarter Sports Bar and Pizzeria.

Text exchanges between the divorced couple in the hours and days before the fatal encounter constituted the centerpiece of a news conference hosted Wednesday by the East Peoria Police Department.

Police Chief Dick Ganschow said investigators easily pieced together the basic components of the situation shortly after the shooting but still were struggling to answer the lingering question of why Jason Moore resorted to extreme, public violence.

That question may never sufficiently be answered, the chief added.

“It may be at the end of this that we don’t have the answers that we really want,” Ganschow said. “We haven’t spoken to anyone who wasn’t surprised or shocked by what happened.”

Jason Moore broached the topic of meeting Griffel for the first time in a text to his ex-wife on the evening of June 12. He remarked how he wanted the interaction to go smoothly for the sake of the children before turning the conversation to the topic of child support. He told his ex he was “cool” with the new relationship and imagined all of them “hanging" out some day.

“So if you guys get real serious and live together please reconsider our child support agreement,” Jason Moore wrote. “I’m struggling to make ends meet.”

Ganschow said Jason Moore was paying $1,000 a month in child support. The couple divorced in Peoria County in May 2013.

Jason Moore’s visitation with the two children he had with Lori Moore dominated the conversation Saturday before the shooting, though child support briefly figured into the messages.

The messages Saturday were sent while Jason Moore was at Rons Rack, a different sports bar in East Peoria where he spent most of the afternoon before arriving at the Fifth Quarter.

A final piece of the investigation will be toxicology testing results to determine Jason Moore’s blood alcohol content and levels of any other drugs in his system, Ganschow said. The ex-husband had prescriptions for a sleep aid and anti-depressant that recently had been refilled.

Jason Moore began the text exchanges at 2:44 p.m. Saturday by verifying the time he would pick up the two children the next morning for Father’s Day. After a nearly three-hour absence of communication, he asked where the children were staying while Lori Moore would be at her high school class reunion.

She said simply that their two kids would be at home, not with her parents. Jason Moore responded with two texts in quick succession.

“You can leave them with me so you guys can go,” he wrote first. Before receiving a response, he added: “This sounds cryptic. I’ll watch the kids instead of whoever is watching them at your house while you guys go.”

Lori Moore responded that the children would be fine and thanked him for the offer. His retort represented an emotional turn in the conversation, but not one that necessarily prefaced an act of violence. Ganschow said domestic cases with less severe outcomes often have more intense language.

“I wasn’t trying to be nice to you, I just wanted my kids,” Jason Moore wrote. “Ok. I’ll see you at the 5th quarter until 9.”

Lori Moore offered a one-word answer: “Creepy.”

While not explicitly stated, Jason Moore seemed to reference a tenet of the child custody agreement that allowed him the first right of refusal to watch the children if they would be away from their mother for more than four hours. Lori Moore acknowledged that she understood his oblique references but indicated she was within the scope of the agreement.

Jason Moore then sent seven unanswered text messages within five minutes: “Of course. I’m not asking for a free-bee. You obviously have plans. Grow up … You’ll still get your child support … So stop it. You and Lance can spend the night together. I still have to … Pay … You’re fine … I will pay child support from now until Callie is 18. Relax, you and Lance can enjoy my money until then …”

At 7:14 p.m. June 14, he sent the final text: “Anywho, I’m going to show up just to piss you off.”

Two minutes later, Jason Moore left Rons Rack. Within about half an hour, he arrived at the Fifth Quarter parking lot and spoke with people outside and inside the establishment for six minutes.

Jason Moore then walked from the counter out of view of the sports bar’s camera system and shot Lori Moore and Griffel one time each in the head. They died within hours at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria.

Jason Moore returned to the establishment’s counter within 10 seconds, pointed the gun under his chin and fired, giving himself only superficial wounds.

Ganschow said Jason Moore then put the gun back to his head, hesitated and lowered the gun, pointing it forward in front of him. That’s when he was simultaneously shot in the chest by an off-duty FBI agent attending the reunion and tackled by a citizen who had heard the shots from outside and rushed in to help.

“The entire incident, from the time (Jason) Moore left the counter area, shot the victims, returned to the counter area and was shot and killed himself was about 15 seconds,” Ganschow said.

The investigation into the incident continues, more than 10 days later. The aspect of the inquiry most crucial to closure and understanding may never be over.

“We may never be able to understand the why,” Ganschow said.

Matt Buedel can be reached at 686-3154 or mbuedel@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @JournoBuedel.

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Text messages between Lori Moore and Jason Moore

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Jason:

- Ok, as awkward as this may be we'll probably have to meet each other someday. I'm fine with it whenever it happens but for our kids sake I want it to be smooth (6:28 p.m.)

-They like his dog. (6:28 p.m.)

Lori:

- True (6:30 p.m.)

Jason:

- I'm not sure which part your responding to (6:30 p.m.)

Lori:

- Well I guess both, but I was talking about the first one (6:30 p.m.)

Jason:

- Ok. I'm cool with it. Good for you. (6:32 p.m.)

- I'm not trying to start shit. I can picture all of us hanging at the Shuler's someday having fun (6:32 p.m.)

- Our kids will come first (6:32 p.m.)

- I meant I'm cool with it (6:32 p.m.)

Lori:

- Yes they will. Everything will work itself out (6:32 p.m.)

Jason:

- Not I'm cool it. (6:32 p.m.)

- So if you guys get real serious and live together please reconsider our child support agreement. I'm struggling to make ends meet. (6:32 p.m.)